Simple Belonging
by Pretty Soldiers
Summary: Inspired by the doujin Crown by RS. Sora begins to understand his feelings for Riku but is certain Riku does not feel the same about him. Soriku.


Author's Note: This short story was inspired by the doujinshi Crown by RS. We couldn't help but want to elaborate and put our own spin on her adorable work. It does not follow the doujinshi exactly, but it was certainly inspired by it.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Square, original storyline belongs to RS, author of Crown. Please read the amazing doujinshi which you can find here!

Sora took a deep breath as he looked at the entrance to his school.

"Here we go," he muttered to himself and rubbed the silver crown pendant around his neck for luck. _How am I to face him now that I've finally realized...?_

He slowly took each step, yanked open the heavy door and stepped into the cornucopia of students.

"Sora! Hey, Sora!"

He turned, saw a slight girl running towards him, her short red hair pulling behind her as she ran down the hall.

"Hi, Kairi," he said, smiling.

"What's new?" she asked when she caught up to him.

Sora kept his gaze centered, and didn't know if he should burst out in a huge smile or grow sick with worry in regards to her question. "N-not too much," he finally stuttered.

She stopped and pulled him off to the side so they didn't block the hallway.

"Are you sure nothing's up?"

Sora gulped air spastically. "W-what d'you mean?"

She looked down. "Oh, I don't know. You're acting strange lately. Distant. Maybe," she said, looking him in the eye, "if there's something wrong, you should talk to Riku about it."

Sora's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he felt a rush of heat to his face. "Why Riku? There's nothing to talk to him about!"

She gave him a sidelong glance, began walking. "Oh, I don't know. You guys are so close I thought if something was bothering you, you might want to talk to him about it. He's knows more then you think."

_What does she mean by that? _Sora thought. "No thanks. I'm okay."

"_Okaaaay_," she said musically, then hurried ahead of him. "I've got to run, but I'll see you later! Oh, and Riku said he had something to tell you!" She dashed away through the miasma of teenagers.

Sora stopped in his tracks, completely oblivious to the student who bumped into him, uttering a rough, "Watch it, dude!" He stood like a deer facing a hunter's gun. _Riku wants to see me? About what? _

Ever since Sora realized the reason he kept feeling feverish and intoxicated and buoyant whenever he saw his best friend Riku, a new feeling had gripped him: fear. _If Riku finds out how I feel about him, he'll be so disgusted he'll never talk to me again. What if he knows and that's what he wants to see me about? _

Sora couldn't get to first class soon enough; he snuck quickly like a cat through the halls, trying to avoid his best friend for as long as possible. He gave a sigh of relief as he stepped into his classroom, booming with voices of rowdy students. Riku was a year older so they didn't have any classes together.

Sora sank down into his desk, grateful that he wouldn't have to deal with Riku and the feelings that surrounded him until the end of the day. _What's the distance you're allowed to get close to your friend before…_ Sora closed his eyes, imagined the touch of Riku's hand…

"Sora, stop daydreaming!"

Sora's eyes shot up; his friend Tidus, had turned his chair around so they were facing one another.

"You should have seen the look on your face," Tidus said. "You were thinking about Kairi, weren't you?"

"Shut up!" Sora yelled.

"Whoa, something wrong! You're not usually this touchy – are you mad 'cause you're failing this class?"

Sora lay his head down on his desk, ignoring Tidus. _Right…not only do I have to worry about Riku, but failing this class too! _He blew a strand of brown hair off his face. _Kairi…yeah, I crushed on her every day before high school, but now she just feels like a friend. But even when I liked her, I never felt so strongly about her like I feel around -_

"Riku?!" Sora felt a yank on the back of his shirt, was pulled out of his seat.

"Hey," Riku said, his voice always calm and sullen.

"Riku! Wha-" Sora stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

Sora shook nervously. "A-about what?"

Riku turned away, picked up Sora's notebook and began flipping through it. "About your grades. I'm coming to your house after school to study. Your mom told me you were failing."

"Oh…" _Darn. I thought I could escape him after school! _

"Oh and Sora, your acting strange lately," Riku said, leaning his face right next to Sora's. "Are you sick…or are you hiding something from me?"

The noisy classroom was barely able to conceal Sora's heavy breathy. _How does he know everything? _"No! I'm not hiding anything! Go back to your own classroom before you're late! See yah!"

Riku left, exuding a heady confidence most teenagers lacked. Sora slumped in his desk, exhausted with stress and confusion.

Tidus plopped down on Sora's desk. "Gosh, why is Riku always hanging around you?"

_Tidus knows! He knows I like Riku!_ "Uh-h, we're best friends!"

"He seems so mature and confident so why doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"What?" Sora gasped. He had never thought about Riku having a girlfriend. _If Riku got a girlfriend then he wouldn't have any time for me. I wouldn't be special to him anymore. "_I don't care if Riku has a girlfriend!"

"Well, this girl asked him out yesterday but he turned her down."

"Who?" Sora cried, then paused. "He turned her down?"

"Yeah, he turned her down. She was really pretty too. But I would think you know by now that Riku already likes someone. That's why he turns all the girls down."

Sora gasped, felt like his heart was sinking into the floor. He was suddenly cold and wished to be curled up in a corner of his room away from the bright, noisy classroom filled with simple, happy students. "Riku likes someone?"

"Yeah. This one girl wrote him a huge long love letter and he told her she'd be better of burning it 'cause he'd never read it because he already liked someone. I thought you'd know who it is, considering you're his best friend and all."

"Oh, well, Riku can be pretty mean sometimes…" Sora said over the lump in his throat. _Who does Riku like? He was so mean to that girl. I'd rather die than have Riku say that to me. _He closed his eyes. _I can never let him know how I really feel._

Afterschool, Sora couldn't concentrate on the lesson Riku was trying to teach him. They sat side-by-side at Sora's kitchen table, papers and pencils spread out all around them. Riku kept biting the pencil, nibbling on it until the top half was void of yellow paint. Sora couldn't concentrate on fractions when Raiden kept biting his pencil like that, wrapped his lips around the eraser. How could multiplication be important compared to the fact Riku liked someone else and stomped on the hearts of those he didn't?

Finally, Sora couldn't stand his rapid thoughts any longer. "Riku," Sora said, putting his head down on the table. "Why are you so mean?"

"Huh?"

"You were mean to that girl, the one who gave you the love letter."

"How do _you_ know about that?"

"Tidus told me. He said you told her to burn her love letter."

"Tidus!" Riku snarled acidly. He leaned his head down on the table too, looked right at Sora. "So you want me to lie to her, even though I didn't like her at all?"

Sora sat up, blushing at how close Riku's face was. " No! No, I didn't say that. It's just, well, you could have been nicer about it. Do you know how hard it is to gather up all your feelings and tell someone you like them?"

"It would have been meaner to let her get her hopes up."

"I guess so." Sora looked down his homework. "But, gee, Riku," Sora muttered, "it's like someone has to walk on water to catch your attention."

Without looking up, Riku said, "No. It's simpler than that."

"What d'yeah mean?"

He looked up and smiled. "You really don't know anything, do you, Sora?"

Sora crinkled his brow. "It's not my fault you're a know-it-all."

Riku gave a small laugh, a sound that caused Sora's heart to skip a beat. "Riku?"

"Are you trying to avoid homework, doofus?"

Sora kept his eyes fixated on the papers. "Tidus said the reason you don't go out with anyone is 'cause you already like someone."

"Goddamnit, Tidus!" Riku growled, banging his fist down on the table.

"Is that true?"

Riku was silent, looked out the window.

"Riku?"

"Yeah."

"You're serious?

"Yeah."

_So he does like someone. _Sora stood, and felt like a trapdoor had opened in his stomach. He looked down, closed his eyes, felt tears press against the lids. _Of course…I knew it would have to happen someday._ A tear squeezed out. _By why did someday have to be today? _"W-who is it?"

Riku's eyes narrowed with suspicion. After an eternity, he said: "You really want to know?"

"Of course!" he blurted. _Did I sound to eager? _He crossed his arms. "I mean, as you're best friend and all."

Riku sighed, ran his fingers through his long silver hair. "There's probably nothing more ironic than talking to _you _about it."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Riku grabbed a stack of papers. "We should get back to your homework."

"But…but…"

"Its no fun if I just tell you - you'll have to guess. I'll give you a hint, since you're so slow with everything: you know this person really well. And you're not allowed to ask anyone. And Sora…" Riku leaned across the table, his face right in front of Sora's, "if you're right, I'll give you a prize."

"Who does Riku like?" Sora said. He stood on the school courtyard with Kairi. He didn't realize how wide his eyes were, how desperate his words came. "I know I shouldn't be asking you but I have no clue at all! You've got to give me hint!"

"Who Riku likes, eh?" she smiled cheekily, her bright blue eyes shining in the sun.

"You know who it is?"

"Yes, exactly. No doubt!"

"Great! Who?"

"You're not allowed to get the answer from me, silly!" Kairi poked him on the nose. "But Sora, you're starting to realize it, aren't you?"

"What?"

"That you like Riku."

Sora stood still as if shot, his jaw slowly dropping toward the blacktop.

Kairi laughed. "I never thought you'd realize it in your whole life!"

"N-n-n-no! No!" Sora waved his arms back and forth defensively. "You've got it all wrong! I'm not—"

"Yeah, yeah. Calm down."

"I can't like Riku! You're the person I like."

"_Was_ the person you like, right?" She gazed into the sky. "It's okay I was your first love. People say first love usually doesn't come true. But in Riku's case it will."

It felt like all the breath was knocked out of him. A slight breeze blew past, tossing Sora's tawny brown hair in front of his eyes. "The person Riku likes…likes him back?"

"Yep."

"Well, why doesn't he just go out with her then," Sora muttered. _I never planned to tell Riku how I felt…it's not like this could ever go anywhere. _

"Sora," Kairi said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I have to go, but I'll you something. _I _never see Riku smile."

She let go and walked again.

_Never sees Riku smile? _Sora leaned on a stair rail. _Is it really a rare thing? _"Riku never smiles around random people so if he smiles at someone then it means he must like them," he muttered to himself.

A faint murmur spread among the school kids: Riku was coming. He had a way of attracting attention without meaning to. He was like a lion surrounded by housecats. _When you just look at him, _Sora thought, _it's true he never smiles. His expression – so cold and calculating – it scares people. But I know that's not what he's like because… _Sora took a moment to collect his thoughts. _Because he's not like that when he's with me. He smiles when we're together. He smiles a lot. _

"Hey Sora," Riku said and bonked him on the head with a book.

_Does that mean..? _

"I've been calling you all this time. What were you thinking about so hard?"

"Um, I w-was—" Sora stammered, "ah-h-h sleeping."

"With your eyes open?" A huge, genuine smile spread across Riku's face. "You really are bad at lying, Sora!"

_His smile! _There it was, stretched plainly across his face, blissful creases adorning the corners of his merrily shining eyes. _"_Riku…" Sora squeezed his hands into fists to stop from shaking. _Don't say anything, Sora, _he begged to himself. _Don't ruin it all. _But the words were pouring out of him before he could stop. _I have to know. _"Am...am I the person you like?"

Silence.

Total absolute silence. If a twig were to snap, it would echo for miles.

Sora's breath released: "Haaaaaaaaaaah…"

The look on Riku's face, unchanging hard as stone. The thought of Riku's harsh rejection of the girl with the love letter flashed into Sora's mind.

"Aaaaaah!" Sora screamed. "No, sorry, I got it wrong! I didn't mean anything! It was my joke of the day! Tidus! Tidus darned me to do it!" _What am I saying! I'm so full of myself - he only smiles at me 'cause I'm his best friend! _Sora closed his eyes, tried to control the trembling. _Now he's going to hate me. I just want to die._

Riku sighed, stuck his hands in his pockets and turned away. "You really didn't realize it, did you?"

Sora blinked away tears. "Huh?"

"Come on." Riku grabbed his arm, pulled him away from school. The small, secluded tuft of forest on the outskirts of the school beckoned them into the shadows.

"Riku, what's going on—"

"Didn't I promise you a prize for getting it right?"

"Getting it right…?"

Underneath the forgiving shadows of the trees, away from the scrutiny of ignorant eyes, Riku grabbed Sora and pulled him close to him. Riku's hand tangled in his hair, his other pushed on the small of Sora's back, pulling them close. Then slowly Riku leaned his forehead against Sora's, and sighed, hot breath rushing over Sora's flushed face. And ever so gently, Riku laid his mouth against Sora's.

_A kiss? _Sora couldn't breath, he couldn't move - his whole body stiffened in shock. Then in a rush, he felt it all: the relief, the joy, the warmth of Riku's lips on his own.

Riku pulled away. Sora could only stare wide up at him, unblinking, unmoving.

"What kind of a look is that?" Riku murmured, pushing Sora's bangs back.

"You just…kissed me."

Riku leaned down to whisper into Sora's ear, "Yeah. I did."

"But…but…you like…"

"I like you." His eyes narrowed and twinkled. ""You don't have to walk on water to catch my attention…you just have to be you. Things are that simple."

Sora frowned slightly, trying to slow his frantic pulse. "But how did you know I liked you too?"

Riku wrapped his arms around Sora, pulled him close. "Don't you know by now that I know everything?"

Sora let his head rest against Riku chest, felt his heart beat. "Riku, you don't know everything."

"What don't I know?"

Sora closed his eyes, whispered, "That I love you."

Riku's heartbeat began to quicken. He bent down, kissed the top of Sora's head. "No, I didn't know that." And as the sunlight dabbled through the leaves, caressing the tops of their heads and encircling them, Riku whispered: "But I knew that I loved you."


End file.
